


Breakdown

by firefly214



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Betty comforts him, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Gladys gets busted, Jughead Jones Needs a Hug, Jughead cries, Jughead's family is messed up, Sheriff FP Jones II, Slightly non-canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 08:29:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19971052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firefly214/pseuds/firefly214
Summary: [Warning: Season 3 spoilers] Jughead's mom is finally discovered as the fizzle rocks kingpin. After her arrest, Jughead's emotional walls come down and he finds comfort from Betty. Bughead/Jughead oneshot. (Originally posted on fanfiction.net, now also posted here.)





	Breakdown

**Author's Note:**

> So this was written like mid-way into season 3 when we all knew Gladys was the kingpin but she hadn't been caught yet. It was my version of how I thought it might happen. Obviously, non-canon now, but still cute.  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

My stomach feels the way it did when I was younger and the 4 of us would go to the drive-in together. The bumpy ride in the stuffy trunk would always make me a bit nauseous, but I never minded it because we would all watch a movie together after it. This time, the "movie after it" is the end of Gladys's fizzle rocks operation.

I keep my gun steady, pointed at the dirty, dingy building. If any Gargoyles try to escape, I'm ready to stop them. All the lights shining on the building illuminate the ugly walls, marked by layer after layer of graffiti, new on top of old on top of older. Sketches of gargoyles cover all the walls. Some are actually pretty good. Others look like absolute crap.

It's cold. My nose is cold. I'm hungry too. I wish I'd brought a snack.

I hear gunshots. The one door I can see flies open and some gargoyles run out. Two entangled bodies fall from a 3rd-story window. They're right in front of a beam of light. One of them is a gargoyle. The other is one of my dad's deputies. He's wearing the beige uniform. His eyes are wide open. His head is bleeding where it hit the ground. The gargoyle's back doesn't move at all. I think they're both dead.

Another gargoyle body falls in front of the pair of corpses. One. Two. Three. Four. He rolls onto his back.

Three more gargoyles run out of the building.

...

In front of my dad is Gladys. She's in handcuffs.

...

My dad's crying.

...

This gun is too heavy.

...

I run.

The scent of grass fills my nose completely. I tripped on a rock.

I keep running.

It's so dark out.

Run.

I can hear my own heart beating in my ears.

Run.

My shoes slapping the concrete echoes through the empty, open air.

Run.

Maybe I would've been good at track.

Run.

I cross the train tracks.

Run.

Pop's signs are so bright.

Run.

The streetlamps are always on in the Northside.

Run.

The lawns are that perfect almost artificial green color.

Run.

I'm so tired.

Run.

I'm so out of breath.

I collapse on the sidewalk.

I look up at the building in front of me. Pembrooke.

Betty!

I stand. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot.

Open the door. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot.

Elevator. Penthouse. Close Doors.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thir-

Ding! Doors open.

Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot.

Knock. It reverberates through the small hallway.

"Jug?" She's worried. I collapse into her body.

One.

Her hair smells like roses.

Two.

Her arms wrap around me.

Three.

Her skin is so soft.

Four.

Her hands are in my hair now.

Five.

"Jug."

Six.

My heart beats so loudly. I look up.

Seven.

Her eyes are so green.

Eight.

"What's wrong?"

What's wrong?

What's wrong?

WHAT'S WRONG?

Nine.

Ten.

I think I'm sad.

Eleven.

Why am I sad?

Twelve.

My face is in her hair again.

Thirteen.

I'm crying.

Fourteen.

Fifteen.

I'm sad.

Sixteen.

I can't breathe.

Seventeen.

Eighteen.

Nineteen.

She's still my mom.

Twenty.

Twenty-one.

Gladys Jones is still my mom.

Twenty-two.

My mom was arrested tonight.

Twenty-three.

My mom's going to prison.

Twenty-four.

Twenty-five.

Gone. She'll be gone.

Twenty-six.

Again. She'll be gone again.

Twenty-seven.

Cry.

Twenty-eight.

Twenty-nine.

"She's leaving again."

"My dad caught her."

Cry.

"She's leaving me again."

"She doesn't want me. She didn't want me."

"She didn't want me, Betty. She just left!"

Cry.

"She took everything but me and left!"

"And... And then she came back. And... And I thought that... that maybe she finally wanted me. But she didn't want me, Betty."

I can't. I can't breathe. I can't breathe anymore.

"She'll never want me."

I feel weak. My legs are so weak. My limbs are tired. I collapse against her warm body and she holds me up.

"I don't know what her reason could possibly be, but I know it must be a stupid one. She's such a fool," Betty says.

Only she could make me believe those words. Only she could make me feel okay after everything that has happened tonight. Wrapped in her arms and her love, I tell myself that I'll be okay and I fully believe it this time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to everyone for reading!  
> I hope the writing style wasn't too confusing. I was trying to really embody Jughead's voice and make the writing as frantic and disorganized as his mind would be during those moments.  
> As always, I love reviews. Thanks, all!


End file.
